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Just a few miles outside Tucson, Arizona, on both the east and west sides, lie the two halves of Saguaro National Park. The sections are separated by about thirty miles (48.3 kilometers) of city. The park preserves the life and the landscape of the Sonoran Desert, including the saguaro cactus, found only in the Sonoran desert. Saguaros can live 175 to 200 years. Seeds from the fruit of the saguaro sprout and begin to grow best under the shelter of a nurse tree--a palo verde tree or mesquite bush. The nurse trees shade the seedlings from the hot sun and hide the baby saguaros from animals that might eat them. Saguaros grow very slowly. After 15 years, they may be only about a foot (30.5 centimeters) tall. When they are about 30 years old they begin to flower and produce fruit. At about 50 years of age they average seven feet (2.1 meters) tall. And at the age of 75 years they may sprout their first branches or arms, which look in the beginning like prickly balls but grow outwards and upwards into "arms." At this point, saguaros can begin to look strangely human. At the age of 100 years, saguaros may get to be 25 feet (7.6 meters) tall. And if they live 150 years or more, they may get to be 50 feet (15.2 meters) tall and weigh 8 tons (7.3 metric tons) or more.

Saguaros are covered on the outside with waxy skin, which helps them retain their moisture. The prickly spines are there to discourage animals from taking the cactus’ moisture, but many birds and animals are able to excavate holes in the saguaro to create homes. These are well-insulated cavities inside the cactus, and they can be up to twenty degrees cooler in the summer and twenty degrees warmer in the winter than the outside air. Inside Saguaros is a spongy flesh that holds water, and in rainy times the accordion-like pleats of the plants expand so that the cacti can hold even more water. Roots of the saguaro are only about three inches (7.6 cm) below the surface of the soil and extend as far out from the plant as the cactus is tall. A large saguaro can soak up as much as 200 gallons (757.1 liters) of water, enough to last a whole year!

It's a giant saguaro cactus that is the companion of Charles Schulz’ cartoon character, Spike, who is Snoopy's brother that lives in the desert. Since this trip is being taken in a motor home named Charlie Brown, I thought it was appropriate that we visit Spike's friend, a saguaro cactus here in the Sonoran desert.

This is Biosphere II, out in the desert northeast of Tucson, near the town of Oracle. It was created to help us gain a better understanding of Biosphere I, which is our planet Earth. The large, glass-enclosed structure in the background of the first picture is Biosphere II, which covers more than three acres (1.2 hectares). It contains five biomes--a rainforest, desert, savanna, marsh, and ocean. The ocean is 25 feet (7.6 meters) deep and contains a million gallons (3.8 million liters) of salt water. There are more than 3,000 species of living organisms in the facility. In addition to the five biomes, there is a space in the enclosure called the Habitat, which originally housed the eight scientists who lived in the huge space for two years. This part of the structure is what you see in the second picture. During the time of that original experiment the scientists lived in the environment of Biosphere II, sealed off from the outside world. They grew their own food, the plants in the facility produced oxygen, the humans and animals breathed that oxygen and produced carbon dioxide which the plants could use, and all water was recycled so that none was brought in from the outside once the structure was sealed. For two years the environment inside sustained itself. NASA was very interested in the experiment because of the hope of someday establishing a self-sustaining colony in space. Much was learned from that original experiment.

A second team of scientists went in for another two-year stint, but the experiment ended after only a few months. I didn't learn why that happened.

Today the facility is a campus of Columbia University, and students and faculty are experimenting with an ecosystem's ability to recycle air, water, and nutrients in order to sustain plant and animal life. Of particular interest in the current work are the studies on increased levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. The scientists want to learn how that will affect us and the systems we live in and depend upon. Biosphere II is no longer sealed off, and the scientists pass in and out of the facility freely.

The tour guide told us many stories about that first group of scientists who lived in Biosphere II. There were a few that stand out in my memory. One was that the corn crop in the food-producing area of Biosphere II failed because the bees that had been brought in to the facility before it was sealed all died off. No one knew why. There was nothing the scientists could do about bringing in more bees after the facility was closed, so they didn't have any corn to eat for two years. The coffee plants grew so slowly that the scientists could only produce enough coffee beans to have a cup of coffee about every two weeks. The diet was largely vegetarian, although there were a few animals living in the facility; for example, there were goats for producing milk. Every scientist had a private apartment with a living room downstairs and a spiral staircase up to a bedroom loft. Everyone ate together in a common dining room, and everyone took turns at the cooking duties. Some of the scientists were not as good cooks as others, so some weeks the diet was even more plain than usual. Everyone inside had computers and access to the outside world through telephones. Only one scientist came out of the facility during the two years, and that was for only a few hours. One of the women cut her hand badly, and the doctor on the team inside determined that she should go to a hospital to have it stitched up. She returned to the facility immediately after her quick trip into Tucson. The facility had "lungs"-- large, flexible air storage units where the excess air could go during the daytime when the air temperature rose inside the facility. At night, when the air inside cooled, the extra air would come back into the facility from the two big "lungs." And those were some of the interesting facts I learned about Biosphere II. What a fascinating place!

Taliesin West was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built by his students of architecture out of the sand and rocks of the land on which it sits, near Scottsdale, Arizona. Construction began in 1937 and was ongoing as Wright continually revised and improved on his own designs. The name Taliesin is from the language of Wright's ancestors who were Welsh. It means "shining brow." It was the name Wright gave his home and studio in Wisconsin because it sits on the "brow" of a hill overlooking the valley below. When Wright and his wife Olgivanna decided to establish a second facility that would be a more pleasant place to spend the winters, they chose this site on a broad mesa in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains, not far from Phoenix.

Taliesin West served as winter home and educational facility for Wright, his family, and his student apprentices. Taliesin West is considered to be one of Wright's greatest masterpieces, displaying his brilliant ability to integrate indoor and outdoor spaces. On the campus are the Cabaret Theater, Music Pavilion, Seminar Theater, Wright's private office, the drafting studio, the dining room, and apartments for students and staff, as well as the home of the Wrights. Connecting all the buildings are pleasant walkways which pass by desert gardens, pools, sculptures, and fountains.

The Architectural Record published in July of 1991 a list of the 100 most significant buildings in the world; a total of 11 of them were designed by Wright. On this trip of mine, I've seen two of Wright's designs--the Monona Terrace in Madison, Wisconsin, and now this masterpiece in the desert. I am in awe of the genius of Frank Lloyd Wright.